Negative carriers. Cant I just use a piece of glass like for scanning?

[68degrees]

I was wondering, if instead of getting a 6x9 carrier and a 6x6 carrier why cant I just sandwhich the negative in a piece of glass like when scanning?

Keeps it flatter and once the glass is clean I can lay a whole strip in there
and not have to mess with it as often. If it works for scanning why wont it work for printing on an enlarger. Beseler 23cII XL. I just tried it with a 2 1/2 inch by 12 inch piece and projected it onto the baseboard and it looks great. It seems too easy there must be something wrong with it. but what.

 

[68degrees]

One word: Newton Rings.

Well, two to be precise.

If you go the route of glass plates be certain to the use Anti-Newton Ring variety. Keeping it clean and scratch free may be a challenge. Why not a 6x7 carrier for both 6x7 & 6x6?

I dont have any 6x7 film. Just 6x6 and 6x9(soon). Everything costs money. $50 and up for carriers. Is this AN glass you speak of known by any other names? Do they sell it at lowes, is it expensive for a small piece 2.5 x 12?

Plus I like the idea of keeping the negatives flat. I read that the big negatives dont like to be flat in the carriers which defeats all the work that went in to making sharp negatives.

Will it not work? Would it have some negative blurring or fogging, or low contrast affect?

 

[68degrees]

shameless bump. Does anyone have experience with this they can share? Thanks

 

[charjohncarter]

Some try coated anti-glare glass, I've heard it doesn't work. But it is cheap. I have the Better Scanning carrier and ANG glass; it works. The really winning part is holding the negative flat. The ANG is necessary to not have Newtons Rings. You may not notice rings at first but they will be there at some point.

 

[Tom A]

The problem with using a double glass as a carrier is the Newton rings. You dont really see them until you pull the print and it has dried! It is particularly prevalent with "green" film - film that still hold residual moisture.
One way to minimize it is to run a couple of pieces of tape along the edges of the carrier, just to keep the top-glass slightly above the negative (you can use masking tape - but you might have to experiment with the thickness). The tape can also be your guide for the negative - loose negatives tend to wander around a bit and you have to aligning them all the time.
Double glass also will pick up dust - with a vengeance. Get an anti static cloth and clean it after each use.

 

[nikon_sam]

The advice given so far is correct...but if you're determined to go with your idea then just do it...I have used the glassless 6x7 carriers for the 23CII and have had no problems with getting sharp images...
The experience I can share is that the normal neg carriers work...so you have to shell out some money for them...that's life...if you're patient enough you'll find one at a decent price...I found my brand new in the box 645 carrier for $20...it does happen...
My Beseler enlarger came with the 35mm FF, 6x6, 6x7 (2) and 6x8 carrier...

 

[Pablito]

Another reason to use the proper carrier it that it seats in the correct, centered position over the lens. Everything costs money, but I have the proper glass carrier for my enlarger, it comes with AN glass and works great. I use the 4x5 glass carrier and mask it off for smaller negs.

Another advantage of glass is that it keeps the negative still. Sometimes the neg will pop from the enlarger heat. So you focus, and then it pops out of focus. That can't happen if it's in glass.

 

[68degrees]

Ok thanks everyone for all your input.

 

[Mark C]

I can confirm Tom's comments about a piece of masking tape fixing the newton rings issue. I stumbled onto that by accident, and have mentioned the idea a couple times on another forum, but people seem more interested in buying the expensive glass solution.

I've made large format carriers from carefully inspected window glass. I'd probably be more fussy for 35mm, but suspect there is cheap glass that would be fine.

Still, I think the best glass solution is to buy the glass carrier for you enlarger and use black masking tape to mask it for whatever format you need. I bought several NOS 4x5 Beseler carriers for cheap a while back and have used them in my Beseler and Omega enlargers.

The issues with making your own are mostly fit, light leaks, and centering. I'm sure you could find a way to deal with the first two; maybe fit the glass to a thin wood frame. For the centering, you can just position your easel with a factory carrier in place (doesn't much matter which size), then center you image over the easel. I don't believe your Beseler shifts the image around as you raise the head, so that is an advantage here over an Omega.

I don't really find the dust more trouble with glass; you have more surfaces, but it seems like dust is more attracted to the film than to glass.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

shameless bump. Does anyone have experience with this they can share? Thanks

JSU already answered it. Many after. If you Google that you'll get all your other nonexplicitly-stated questions. Those of us who have experience with it know this is the answer. If you haven't had experience with it and still don't understand why this is the answer, Google it...then you'll understand perfectly all else that's been answered here since.

 

[68degrees]

JSU already answered it. Many after. If you Google that you'll get all your other nonexplicitly-stated questions. Those of us who have experience with it know this is the answer. If you haven't had experience with it and still don't understand why this is the answer, Google it...then you'll understand perfectly all else that's been answered here since.

haha youre a little late to the party there cowboy. all my questions were expertly answered by the RFF gurus and I am very appreciative to all of them. Thank you guys. (and any ladies)